Colossi Games, a specialist in role-playing games (RPG), has secured USD2.5 million in a seed round led by EQT Ventures, with participation from existing investor Play Ventures.
Colossi Games is a Cyprus-based games studio, which is creating the first ever social survival game on mobile. The funding will be used to develop and market its first game, as well as the creation of future games.
Colossi Games strives to become the creators of the first survival/action mobile RPG that includes multiplayer functionality. In 2021, the global games market revenue will hit USD189.3 billion, a 147 per cent increase from 2020, showing a huge market opportunity. The game is set in Ancient Rome during the Roman Empire and incorporates elements of mythical lore. Players will be able to explore, band together, sabotage and fight others in colosseums as gladiators.
Colossi Games was founded in early 2020 by a trio of industry experts. CEO and co-founder, Manuel Prueter, and brother-in-law Andrey Panfilov (CPO and co-founder), came up with the idea around the dinner table. Joining forces with Anton Petrov (CTO and co-founder), they sought to plug the multiplayer survival RPG gap in the mobile market with this game. They are keen to revolutionise this area of the industry whilst running a lean team to increase efficiencies. The founders started hiring in September 2020 and have already grown their team to a total of 10 people, looking to hire more this year.
Manuel Prueter, CEO and co-founder at Colossi Games, says: “Having worked at various different corporate games companies across Europe and Russia, we saw the gap in the market to create a more social RPG game. We strongly believe the future is social, and we strive to make a significant genre impact on innovation in this regard. This new funding will enable us to bring the game to life in a more advanced state and create more game-changing entertainment. Bringing Lars Jörnow, Partner EQT Ventures, on board is incredibly exciting for us. He has a great track record and a huge amount of experience value add, so we cannot wait to get our teeth stuck in.”
Lars Jörnow, Partner at EQT Ventures, adds: “The mobile games industry is ripe for revolution, and Colossi Games is perfectly positioned to create that disruption. The founding team are true industry veterans who have a great track record in their respective fields. I am looking forward to joining their board and helping guide the strategy and success of the business.”
Henric Suuronen at Play Ventures says: “We’ve been part of Colossi Games’ journey from the very beginning helping Manuel build the core founding team. We have been totally amazed how far the small team has gotten in a very short amount of time. This new round with a prestigious investor like EQT is a true testament of the quality of the team and their innovative RPG game. We believe this is the start of something really big.”
